"Scientific data seems to show that as well as helping to shift pounds, this alternate-day dieting can help us live longer and reduce the risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s.

While the idea that you can eat anything on your free days sounds great — especially for dieters who struggle to stick to low-calorie eating plans long-term without falling off the wagon — many nutritionists believe that those on the alternate day diet could end up over-indulging on ‘feast’ days, and actually put on weight. However Dr Krista Varady of the University of Illinois in Chicago, one of the scientists involved in research into intermittent fasting, insists that this doesn’t happen.
‘Our studies show that people end up losing weight because they can’t fully make up for the lack of food on the fast day on the feed day. And people in our studies didn’t binge. They only ate about 100 per cent to 110 per cent of their calorie needs.’

.... "It remains to be seen whether this is a long-term solution for those with weight problems, or is just another short-lived diet craze that will go the way of the Grapefruit Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, and other extreme plans women have subjected themselves to over the years.

But is a diet that nutritionists warn may spark an eating disorder really worth the risk?"